30ft £15k

steveej

steveej

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HI all,

I have shortlisted the following boats for my next boat:

Sadler 32
Sadler 34
Westerly Merlin
Moody 28

How would you order these in terms of speed, of course the 34 would be quickest but what about the rest.

What about comfort at sea?

I like the aft cabin (which the sadler 32 is missing) as we have young kids. I am looking at bilge keelers.

Budget £20k but if I can get something for £15k then even better. Not afraid to do some work but not looking for a project.
 
I cannot comment on the Sadlers or Moody, except to say the 34 is a considerably larger boat than the Moody or Merlin, but I have known people with Merlins and they seem well pleased with them and they reportedly sail well. There are two for sail on the WOA website at the moment that might well be worth a look. Incidentally there is also a Fulmar on offer for £23K (try an offer) which would probably sail past all of your choices but does not have an aft cabin.
 
doubt you will get a Sadler 34 for your money.

Suggest you put your criteria into the yachtworld search engine to get a longer list which may throw up boats you have not considered. You will of course be very constrained with bilge keels and aft cabin!
 
I've just bought a Seamaster 925 and you'd have a nice bit of change in your pocket with one of those. It's a bit older than the Sadlers but I think they're a lovely looking yacht.
 
A Westerly Fulmar (I have one) might just be in your price range, but have you considered the Westerly Konsort. That is a high volume hull, but does lack the aft cabin. This one its your budget. http://www.lovellyachts.com/used-boats/boat-details.php?BoatID=5884267&currency=GBP This I would expect to sell quite quickly at this price considering the condition and specification. There are a number on the Westerly Owners Association web site for sale (including the one above).

You will find very few 30ft boats with useable aft cabins in your price range, so you may need to compromise.
 
In the galactic scheme of things they all sail at speeds so similar it is hardly worth worrying about. Unless you intend to race, where I would not be picking the Moody

If you do consider a Fulmar, they have loads of room for families to shuffle about and the big quarter berth would be fine for kids, perhaps with a curtain which would be easy to fit.

However if you can locate a 34 in your budget, that is not a wreck, that is the one I would go for. Only drawback is the steering wheel that you will probably have to settle for but I understand some people even like them, some even fit two. A boat this size could do you for life. Its big enough for teenagers if they take an interest and small enough to singlehand if they jump ship with their mother. It's also roomy enough and capable to take you off into the blue on retirement, to rusticate on the French canals or gently race. It is not such a monster that using it into your seventies is daunting.
In short it could save you a fortune in boat swapping.
 
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Other things being equal, a larger boat will be more comfortable for the family and at sea. A friend of mine sailed his Sadler 32 for many years with three children/teenagers quite happily so far as we could tell.

The Merlin is a decent boat but we rejected it in favour of a Sadler 29 at the time because it seemed to be trying to fit a quart into a pint pot. Although you get an aft cabin, the saloon is compromised by being shoved forward and there is not much room to relax in. The Seadog is something of a '60s design which will suit some, but I don't think it will sail as well as most of the others.
 
Tranona said:
doubt you will get a Sadler 34 for your money.
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I would have thought that too, but... http://www.mikelucasyachting.co.uk/...tails.php?Make=Sadler&Model=34&BoatID=5781781

In fact my inital thought was that most of these boats would be marginal for the £15k but a quick look around shows they're not, although all boats of this age and at that price point are going to need at the least some updating. Shows how much prices have dropped in the last few years.

I think we had a similar queston to this- aft cabins on 30 foot boats on tight budgets- a little while ago and Gibsea (?92) and some of the 1980s Beneteaus came up. No bilge keels on those though. (no bilge keels on the S34 above either).
 
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Add a moody 333 to your list I love the walk through aft cabin on mine. Sails well no issues specific that I know just normal Boaty mantanance
 
Interesting topic. About 20 years ago when I was still dinghy sailing, I chartered a Westerly Merlin twin keel and a Sadler 34 in following years from the then South Cornwall Yacht Charters in Mylor. Accommodation in the Merlin was fine, but the first sail was disappointing, a gentle beat across Falmouth Bay to Helford had the Merlin going two steps forward and one sideways, no matter how I sailed it. The max we saw in a 3-4 was 3 .5 knots...

The next year the 34 was lovely.... the Merlin put me off bilge keels forever
 
Gladys said:
Interesting topic. About 20 years ago when I was still dinghy sailing, I chartered a Westerly Merlin twin keel and a Sadler 34 in following years from the then South Cornwall Yacht Charters in Mylor. Accommodation in the Merlin was fine, but the first sail was disappointing, a gentle beat across Falmouth Bay to Helford had the Merlin going two steps forward and one sideways, no matter how I sailed it. The max we saw in a 3-4 was 3 .5 knots...

The next year the 34 was lovely.... the Merlin put me off bilge keels forever
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The only bilge keelers I have sailed are Hunter Duettes, courtesy of RYA, and the modern Sadler.
Both go absolutely fine. There is a small % loss in performance compared to a fin keeler. A couple of degrees leeway, a bit more drag.
There are some dogs out there, but I suspect that the problem is bilge keeler owners are not supposed to be in a hurry, so a poor rig is slapped on?
Also there is more keel area to gather weed?
 
I agree the Discus looks nice. What about an older Moody 33 than the 333 mentioned above? Access to the aft cabin is from the cockpit rather than a walkthrough, but with a cockpit enclosure you get more space and extra privacy between ends of the boat. Well within your budget for a well kept boat at current prices
 
Pasarell said:
I agree the Discus looks nice. What about an older Moody 33 than the 333 mentioned above? Access to the aft cabin is from the cockpit rather than a walkthrough, but with a cockpit enclosure you get more space and extra privacy between ends of the boat. Well within your budget for a well kept boat at current prices
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The OP is quite explicit that he wants bilge keels, and the boat you suggest is a fin keel!
 
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